What an Adventure

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted last. I was taking Benji's 5 month picture, and I felt like I had just taken the 4 month shot...it didn't seem like a whole month could have come and gone again.

He is still such a joy. He wakes up happy every morning and he always seems excited to find out what a new day will bring. It really makes a difference seeing the world through a child's eyes. Everything is new and exciting and different. He notices things that we may take for granted, and it's nice to take a step back and see things from his perspective. Something as simple as the wind making the leaves "dance" can captivate him.

Let's see...what are his new skills? He now can not only reach for his feet, but he can put his toes in his mouth, which he finds hilarious. He's "reachy" and 'grabby" in general. Whereas in the past he would try to grab onto something if it was presented to him, he now decides what he wants and tries to go after it. He may try to grab a cup if I'm drinking from it, or he might reach for a specific toy in the bathtub. It seems that he wants whatever I'm holding. For instance, if I'm giving him a bath and he has the rubber duck and I have the washcloth, he drops the duck and grabs for the washcloth. If I then pick up the duck, he drops the cloth and wants the duck! I guess he hasn't learned the whole bit about the grass being greener on the other side!

He enjoys watching the cats, although I think they could do without him screetching at them in joy while they eat. He also seems facinated by anything with buttons. It's kind of strange...we don't let him watch TV and he really doesn't play with toys that light up, etc. But he is absolutely entranced cell phones and remote controls. If one is several feet away he'll stare at it and sometimes lunge toward it trying to reach it. Guess he's a gadget-head already.

He's a very active little boy. His desire to be up and about is a bit ahead of his ability to actually do so, but he doesn't seem to realize this! If a kid runs by when I pick him up from daycare, he lunges after them. If he's lying down, he strains to sit up. While he still needs some support to sit, he's got an amazingly strong back, and I have a feeling the little stinker is going to be sitting on his own before I know it. I have to feed him in a dark, quiet room during the day to have any hope of getting some milk in his belly. Otherwise it's like trying to nurse a wild monkey the way he wiggles, squirms, and tumbles around in order to look around the room while trying to eat. He just doesn't want to miss anything.

Despite all this activity, he has yet to really roll over on a regular basis. It seems like he's just not that interested in it. He's rolled from tummy to back a couple of times, but he didn't seem to mean to do it (he just got mad enough about being on his tummy and flipped over). He can get from his back to his belly, which is usually the more difficult of the two skills....but he rarely does it because he doesn't want to be on his belly!

I have to admit that I'm really in love with this kid. I can't stop thinking about him when I'm away, and I can't get enough of him when we're together.

4 months old

Benji is growing like a weed. He's now four months old (as of 8/26), and showing us how it's done!

The question I get asked the most these days is, "is he sleeping through the night?"

Not even close! At one point he was getting up every 3-4 hours with an occasional blissful 5 hour stretch thrown in just to make Mommy feel like a woman of leisure. Since I went back to work, however, he's been getting up every 1-3 hours to eat. His pediatrician is a stickler for sleep so he's a bit put out by it, but I'm not too worried. He's growing and developing like he should and he's a happy baby, so right now this is working for him. Not that I wouldn't enjoy a good night's sleep. But he's only a baby for so long.

Luckily, Benji is quite the morning person. He wakes up with a huge smile on his face, and is in full on let's play mode. If I wake up wanting to cry about the fact that it's already 5:30 and I have to get up and get ready for work...he manages to smile and giggle at just the right time and I suddenly feel ready to face the day.

Now that he can see the world so much more clearly, he's so interested in his world. Feedings have become like wine tastings...he'll take a few sips and then want to just sit back, have a little conversation, and take in his surroundings.

A few days ago he finally figured out how to get his feet up so that he could grab them. Those 10 little toes are providing him a lot of entertainment these days. He also loves to people watch. He's a huge flirt, and I think he knows how to get that "awww, how cute" reaction out of people.

Today, we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial with Uncle Bill and Cousin Mason. It's quite an inspirational place. I'm glad that we'll be able to take Benji when he's old enough to appreciate the significance.